The tumult that has characterized the Lynx roster in recent days is rooted in realizations, late in training camp and early in the season, that key veterans chosen to try to keep the team competitive in Sylvia Fowles' last season weren't going to work out.
It all starts there: Coming to the decision, just days before the season opener, that point guard Layshia Clarendon's leg was perhaps not sound enough to withstand the pounding of a condensed, 36-game season. At least to start, with four games in the first nine days. Then realizing, three games and three losses into the season, that forward Angel McCoughtry's knee was just not ready for her to play at her best.
The latest: The addition of veteran point guard Moriah Jefferson, who will start Saturday against the Chicago Sky, the defending WNBA champion. It is a move eerily reminiscent of coach and General Manager Cheryl Reeve's decision to sign Clarendon last season after an 0-4 start.
The bottom line is the Lynx signed Jefferson, moved Evina Westbrook's status from replacement player to full roster status and re-signed replacement players Yvonne Turner, Nikolina Milic and Hannah Sjerven.
That's all because of the difficult conclusions regarding Clarendon and McCoughtry, that the team wasn't where Reeve thought it should be. The decision to part ways with Odyssey Sims, who is dealing with a personal matter, was another blow.
"We kind of put the group behind a little bit,'' Reeve said. "In terms of a key position. I mean, who wants to be making changes at the point guard spot 72 hours before the season? But here we are. And we'll do what's necessary. We'll keep tweaking until we feel we've got the team where we want it.''
Working harder
By Reeve's admission, the decisions put the team in a difficult spot, playing, as Reeve put it, "playing from behind, talent-wise."
But behind all roster moves: Reeve's admission that, though this year's training camp was better than 2021, it wasn't good enough. And her frustration with the team's inconsistent effort through three losses. With three days off after Tuesday's loss in Indiana, the Lynx took Wednesday off. Thursday and Friday Reeve pushed the team hard in practice. After it was over she hinted that, unless that effort level changed, more changes were in the offing.